Concise Introduction to Asymmetric Synthesis

1. General terms
2. Resolution and chiralpool synthesis
3. Auxilaries
4. Ligands and chiral reagents
5. Organocatalysis

Asymmetric Synthesis

Many, if not most, of naturally occurring or biologically active organic

compounds contain chiral centres.

As a result, the ability to generate chiral centres with a defined geometry

‘from scratch’ or achiral substrates is of much importance in synthetic
organic chemistry.

Asymmetric synthesis as defined by Morrision and Mosher, is a reaction in

which an achiral unit in an ensemble of substrate molecules is converted
into a chiral unit in such a manner that unequal amounts of stereoisomers
are produced.

Since it is not immediately clear whether reactions giving diastereomerically

enriched but racemic materials are included under this definition (I will
include them), and for further specificity, there are many more detailed terms
that should be defined.

Objectives Behind Studying Asymmetric Synthesis

1) To gain an appreciation of the types of asymmetric reactions which may be

employed in organic synthesis.
2) To an understand the origins of the enantioselectivities and the mechanisms
of the reactions.
3) To be able to propose asymmetric syntheses of organic molecules of medium
complexity.
Asymmetric Synthesis:

The ability to synthesize single enantiomers of chiral molecules

is important as different enantiomers can interact with biological
receptors very differently.
For example:
 Enantiomeric excess ?

Stereoselective Reaction:
A reaction in which one of a set of stereoisomers is formed predominantly. This may
be further specialized into diastereoselective or enantioselective depending upon
whether it is a diastereomer or an enantiomer that is being produced selectively.
Stereospecific Reaction:
A reaction in which there are two (or more) starting material stereoisomers and two (or
more) product stereoisomers. One of the starting material isomers produces one product
isomer, while the other starting material isomer produces the other product isomer.
Once again, this may be further specialized into diastereospecific (not used that often)
and enantiospecific reactions.
It must follow that any stereospecific reaction is also stereoselective, as the former is a
more stringent test. An excellent example of a stereospecific reaction is the aldol
condensation feature, where lithium or other enolates of Z- geometry tend to form syn
diastereomers of products, while the E- enolates form anti- products.

Stereospecific reaction
A reaction in which the configuration of the substrate influences the
configuration of the product,
or
A reaction in which only a specific isomer reacts, in such a way that its
configuration influences the configuration of the product.
 Stereodifferentiation
• Enantiodifferentiating reaction
– Differentiation is provided by the reagent or reaction environment,
and refers to the reagent’s ability to differentiate between
enantiofaces, enantiotopes, or enantiomers.
• Diastereodifferentiating reaction
– Reactions are influenced by chirality in the substrate and form
diastereomers in unequal quantities. May differentiate between
diastereofaces, diastereotopes, or diastereomers.

Enantioselective Catalysis –
Probably the most elegant and desired form of asymmetric synthesis.
But enantiomerically pure reagents are not cheap. These involve catalysts
(present in small amounts, i.e, 20 mol% or less, and the smaller the better),
which are enantiomerically pure, and which bias either the orientation of the
substrate or the reagent, allowing the reagent to be delivered in an
enantioselective manner.
This catalyst must then dissociate from the product or reagent by-product, so
that it can encounter the next substrate (or reagent) molecule. The Sharpless
asymetric epoxidation is an excellent example of this type of asymmetric
synthesis.

Double Stereodifferentiation
If both the substrate and the reagent are chiral, there is the possibility for
double (dia)stereodifferentiation, where both effect asymmetric synthesis
-Note: There will be cases where the substrate and reagent’s chiralities
reinforce each other (matched pair)
Synergetic Effect. High diastereoselection results
-There will also be cases where they work against each other (mismatched
pair). A disaster in diastereoselection
Prior to asymmetric synthesis there were two ‘classical’ways of constructing
molecules as single enantiomers.
Resolution:This is usually achieved by formation of a diastereomeric mixture
of salts by the reaction of the racemate with an enantiomerically pure acid or
base. Followed by crystallisation of one of the diastereomeric salts. However,
this is not very efficient as the maximum yield of the desired enantiomer after
‘cracking’the salt is 50%.
Chiral Pool: Readily available chiral materials. Mostly naturally available
terpenes, amino acids, carbohydrates, tartrates, etc.

Central Chirality – Arises due to a centre of chirality. A chiral centre that could be R- or S.
Axial Chirality -Chirality due to restricted rotation about four groups substituted on an axis,
with the partners in each pair having to be different.
The most common examples are in allenes and in biaryls (with sizeable ortho substituents)

Planar Chirality - Chirality due to certain elements in a molecule forced out of a critical
reference plane of the molecule, so that the mirror image of the molecule is non-
superimposable. Examples are: cyclophanes
Helical Chirality -Chirality due to a molecule assuming a helical shape that it cannot
readily undo.
This is often seen in polyaromatics that are (for obvious reasons) called helicenes.

P and M configuration descriptors are used

Other forms of chirality
Spiro compounds
Cycloalkylidenes
Trans-cycloalkenes

Substrate Control
This is a form of stereoselective synthesis where a chiral centre already
present in the molecule is responsible for selective generation of a new chiral
centre. These are stereoselective reaction, and examples include Felkin-Ahn
additions and (Cram) Chelate model additions to carbonyls.
A Retake at Stereoselective and Stereospecific Reactions

Is this reaction Stereoselective or Stereospecific?

• Requirements
Enantiomerically purefor Chiral Auxiliaries
• Cheap and easy to obtain in good quantity
• Easy to attach to substrates
• High and predictable control of stereoselectivity
• Easy purification of diastereomers
• Easy removal without loss of purity
• Easy separation and recovery for re-use
Chiral Auxiliaries
The simplest examples of this would include converting an aldehyde or ketone to an acetal
using a chiral diol,
or converting an acid derivative to an ester or amide that contains a chiral centre.
You should have an appreciation of
1] the types of asymmetric reactions which may be
employed in organic synthesis,
2] an understanding of the origins of the
enantioselectivities and the machanisms
of the reactions and
3] the ability to propose asymmetric syntheses of
organic molecules of medium
complexity.